1st Cavalry Division (United Kingdom)
|allegiance= British Crown |branch= |type=Cavalry |size=Division World War II :11,097 men :6,081 horses :1,815 vehicles |command_structure =Cavalry Corps (World War I) |garrison= |battles=World War I :Battle of Mons (1914) :Action of Elouges :Rearguard Action of Solesmes :Battle of Le Cateau :Rearguard Affair of Etreux :Affair of Nery :Rearguard Actions of Villers-Cotterets :Battle of the Marne :Battle of the Aisne :Actions on the Aisne Heights :First Battle of Ypres 1914 :Second Battle of Ypres 1915 :Battle of Flers-Courcelette 1916 :Battle of Arras 1917 :Battle of Cambrai 1917 :First Battle of the Somme 1918 :Battle of Amiens 1918 :Second Battle of the Somme 1918 :Hindenburg Line 1918 :Final Advance in Artois :Final Advance in Picardy World War II :Anglo-Iraqi War :Syria-Lebanon Campaign |decorations= |disbanded= |notable_commanders= Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby }} The 1st Cavalry Division was a regular Division of the British Army during the First World War where it fought on the Western Front. During the Second World War it was a second line formation, formed from Yeomanry Regiments. It fought in the Middle East before being converted to the 10th Armoured Division. Napoleonic Wars During the Peninsular War, Wellington organized his cavalry into The Cavalry Division from June 1809 under Major General Sir William Payne. This performed a purely administrative, rather than tactical, role; the normal tactical headquarters were provided by brigades commanding two, later usually three, regiments. On 3 June 1810, Payne return home and his second-in-command, Major General Stapleton Cotton took command. Cotton was to remain in command thereafter and effectively acted as Wellington's chief of cavalry. On 19 June 1811, the cavalry was reorganized as two divisions and The Cavalry Division was redesignated as 1st Cavalry Division with the formation of the 2nd Cavalry Division. The divisions were once again amalgamated as The Cavalry Division on 21 April 1813 with Cotton (Lieutenant General from 1 January 1812) still in command. First World War The 1st Cavalry Division was one of the first Divisions to move to France in 1914, they would remain on the Western Front throughout the war. It participated in most of the major actions where cavalry were used as a mounted mobile force, they would also be used as dismounted troops and effectively serve as infantry. On 11 November 1918, orders were received that the Division would lead the advance of Second Army into Germany, by 6 December, having passed through Namur, the Division secured the Rhine bridgehead at Cologne. Order of battle in the First World War 1st Cavalry Brigade :2nd Dragoon Guards :5th Dragoon Guards :11th Hussars :1st Signal Troop :1st Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron (from February 1916) 2nd Cavalry Brigade :4th Dragoon Guards :9th Lancers :18th Hussars :2nd Signal Troop :2nd Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron (from 28 February 1916) 9th Cavalry Brigade 9th Cavalry Brigade was formed in France on 14 April 1915 with the 15th Hussars and the 19th Hussars. These regular cavalry regiments had been serving on the Western Front since August 1914 as divisional cavalry squadrons assigned to infantry divisions. The brigade remained with 1st Cavalry Division for the rest of the war. Cavalry Divisional troops :III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery transferred to 2nd Cavalry Division on formation on 17 September 1914 ::D Battery, RHA ::E Battery, RHA ::III RHA Brigade Ammunition Column :VII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery ::I Battery, RHA attached to 1st Cavalry Brigade from 17 September 1914 ::L Battery, RHA withdrawn after Action at Néry on 1 September 1914 ::(Tempy) Z Battery, RHA from 1 to 27 September 1914 ::H Battery, RHA from 28 September 1914, attached to 2nd Cavalry Brigade ::1/1st Warwickshire Battery, RHA (TF) from 14 April 1915 to 21 November 1916, attached to 9th Cavalry Brigade ::Y Battery, RHA from 1 December 1916, attached to 9th Cavalry Brigade ::VII RHA Brigade Ammunition Column :1st Field Squadron Royal Engineers :1st Signal Squadron Second World War The 1st Cavalry Division was reformed on 31 October 1939 in Northern Command and took command of two pre-war First Line Territorial Army cavalry brigades (5th and 6th) and the newly formed 4th Cavalry Brigade. It was the only cavalry division in the British Army in World War II. It departed the United Kingdom in January 1940, transited across France, and arrived in Palestine on 31 January 1940. It served as a garrison force under British Forces, Palestine and Trans-Jordan. In May 1941, the Divisional Headquarters and elements of the division (notably the 4th Cavalry Brigade), together with a battalion of infantry from the Essex Regiment, a mechanised regiment from the Arab Legion and supporting artillery was reorganised as ''Habforce'' for operations in Iraq including the relief of the base at RAF Habbaniya and the occupation of Baghdad. Following this, in July 1941, Habforce was placed under the command of I Australian Corps and was involved in operations against the Vichy French in Syria, advancing from eastern Iraq near the Trans-Jordan border to capture Palmyra and secure the Haditha - Tripoli oil pipeline. On 1 August 1941, the Division was converted into the 10th Armoured Division. 10th Armoured Division later fought at the Battles of Alam Halfa and El Alamein. It was disbanded on 15 June 1944 in Egypt. Order of battle in Second World War 4th Cavalry Brigade 5th Cavalry Brigade 6th Cavalry Brigade Support Units The division also commanded the following support units: :104th (Essex Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery :106th (Lancashire Hussars) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery :107th (South Nottinghamshire Hussars) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery :2nd Field Squadron, Royal Engineers :141st Field Park Squadron, Royal Engineers :1st Cavalry Division Signal Regiment :550th Company, Royal Army Service Corps, TA"History of 550 Coy RASC TA 1936-45" by Capt M B Phillips, TD Commanders The 1st Cavalry Division had the following commanders during World War I: The 1st Cavalry Division had the following commanders during World War II: See also *British Army during World War I *British Cavalry Corps order of battle 1914 *British cavalry during the First World War *List of British divisions in WWI *List of British divisions in WWII *British Armoured formations of the Second World War Notes References Bibliography * * * * * * History of 550 Coy RASC TA 1936-45 by Capt M B Phillips TD External links *1st Cavalry Division on The Long, Long Trail *1st Cavalry Division on the Regimental Warpath * 1 1 Category:British World War II divisions Category:Military units and formations established in 1914 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Category:Military units and formations established in 1939 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 Category:1914 establishments in the United Kingdom